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Another nice one from Tuesday regular Peto. Not too difficult, and enjoyable. Thanks Peto. Definitions are underlined in the clues. [[The pictures at the bottom of the blog have got unidentified links to the puzzle.]]

5 One close to Blunkett’s heart taking marijuana as a writing aid (6)INKPOT : I(Roman numeral for “One“) plus(close to) NK[middle letters of (…’s heart) Blunkett] plus(taking) POT(slang for the drug marijuana).
Answer: Not many of these around nowadays.

9 Went about in twos (8)REPAIRED : RE(about,relating to,with reference to, from the Latin) + PAIRED(grouped together in twos).
Answer: Gone to, as in “after dinner the men repaired to the study”, in pre-feminist days – nowadays they’re more likely to repair to the kitchen to help wash up The word, interestingly, has etymological links to “repatriate”.

10 List of items for discussion by a military commander includes death (6)AGENDA : AGA(in Turkey and Muslim countries, a general,a military commander) containing(includes) END(the final one,death).

11 Distorted representation of a device for carrying around underwear (8)TRAVESTY : TRAY(a device for carrying all sorts of things, usually by butlers, maids and waiters, and self-service diners) containing(around) VEST(underwear to be worn under the shirt).

22 City centre of Liebnitz occupied by British soldiers (6)BREMEN : B,N[central letters(centre) of Liebnitz] containing(occupied by) REME(abbrev. for the Corps of Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers,British soldiers).
Answer: The City in northwestern Germany.

24 Go to Indiana to retire (4,2)TURN IN : TURN(Go, in games of 2 or more people) plus(to) IN(abbrev. for the US state of Indiana).
Answer: To call it a night,go to bed,to retire.

25 Father crossing river on small piece of furniture is certain to succeed (4-4)SURE-FIRE : SIRE(Father, as a noun, the male parent usually of a horse or other domestic animal, and, as a verb, to procreate as the male partner) containing(crossing) [URE(the river in N. Yorkshire, England, which becomes the Ouse further downstream) plus(on) F(initial letter,small pieceof furniture)].

26 Good to receive one thousand roubles for a pound (6)NICKER : NICE(descriptive of something that makes you feel Good) plus(to receive) K(symbol for “one thousand ” in the metric system) + R(abbrev. for the rouble).
Answer: Slang for a,one British pound sterling.

27 It’s best not to shoot one in colour before daybreak (3,5)RED LIGHT : RED(a colour) placed before(before) LIGHT(daybreak).
Answer: Refers to the “one” in the defn.,a traffic light It’s best, if not downright dangerous, to shoot,go past at high speed.

Down

1 Private investigator to consider operating illegally (6)PIRATE : PI(abbrev. for Private investigator) + RATE(to consider, as in “we consider/rate him as one of the best…”).

2 It’s not supposed to contain a record of annulment (6)REPEAL : REAL(in contrast to,It’s not something that is supposed) contained in(to contain) EP(abbrev. for a record with extended play vs. the single, something before the digital age).
Answer: An annulment of a law or decree.

3 Left for dead after exactly what is needed is found in river (6)EXITED : D(abbrev. for dead) placed after(after) [IT(exactly what is needed,a desirable quality, as in “either you have it or you don’t”) contained in(is found in) EXE(another river in England)]

4 Juliet had one second to tweet her answer surprisingly (10)SWEETHEART : S(abbrev. for second as in “h:m:s”) plus(to) anagram of(surprisingly) [TWEET HER] + A(abbrev. for answer)].
Answer: What Juliet had in Romeo, or Juliet was one herself to Romeo, depending on whether one puts the “one” in the defn. or the wordplay.

6 Worthless piece about a Conservative (8)NUGATORY : Reversal of(about) GUN(refered to in slang as a piece) + A + TORY(member of the Conservative Party).

7 An optimist‘s explanation in support of God (8)PANGLOSS : GLOSS(one of several types of explanation, eg. one in the margin of a manuscript, a verbal one, a deliberately misleading one, or as a short form for glossary) placed below(in support of, in a down clue) PAN(the Greek mythological God of the fields, woods, shepherds and flocks represented as half man and half goat, and playing the pipes).
Answer: From the optimist Dr. Pangloss, mentor to start with of the main character in Voltaire’s satire, Candide. The good Dr’s mantra was “all is for the best in the best of all possible worlds”

8 Leave at the end after playwright gets cross (8)TRAVERSE : E(last letter(at the end) “Leave “] placed after(after, in a down clue) TRAVERS(Ben, English playwright, renown for his farces)
Answer: Something that crosses over between 2 points.

15 Religious fellow not brought up to talk at length (6,2)RABBIT ON : RABBI(a Religious fellow, learned in Judaism) + TON[reversal of(brought up, in a down clue) “not“].

16 The second half of some erotic novel by Swift (8)METEORIC : ME(The second half of the letters of “some“) + anagram of(novel) EROTIC – Jonathan Swift being the English author, but not of erotic novels (as far as I know).

19 Appropriate for a toff (2,4)AS WELL : A + SWELL(British slang for a toff,itself slang for a stylish well-dressed man).Answer: As in “If you’re going to be late, it’s as well/Appropriate that you don’t come at all”.

20 Newspaper collecting money for a sailor (6)RATING : RAG(a somewhat derogatory term for a Newspaper) containing(collecting) TIN(British slang for money).
Answer: A sailor, and in some navies, the ordinary seaman, ie. one with the lowest rating.

21 Opening after Bill’s arrival (6)ADVENT : VENT(an Opening to let out undesirable gases, anatomy excepted ) placed after(after) AD(short for an advertisement; one that’s written and distributed is a Bill or handbill)
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This entry was posted on Tuesday, August 28th, 2012 at 10:21 am and is filed under FT.
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Yes, mike04. Many a slip ‘tween intention and execution. I’ve checked, and the Dee came from my blog yesterday of the Guardian Cryptic. Strange the way the mind (mine, at least) wotks! Blog corrected, thanks.

[[Hi Robi: that tassel is also called a tuft, leading to it being a term for a titled (peers and such) student at Oxford Uni in those days. The origin of TOFF is probably that, an alteration of “tuft” and an extended usage beyond the uni. I wouldn’t have got it either!]]